Last year saw the release of Kevin Macdonald's One to One, an archive compilation documentary about John Lennon and Yoko Ono's vibrant existence in New York during the early 1970s. That film took its name from two charity concerts the couple mounted at Madison Square Garden to raise funds for children abused at New York's notorious Willowbrook State School—a scandal Lennon discovered by watching Geraldo Rivera's television exposé. While it is hoped the box office receipts made a tangible difference, the concert certainly helped change the law to underscore the civil rights of individuals in children's homes.
Now, new live footage has emerged: an immersive split-screen film whose editing was overseen by Sean Ono Lennon. Despite the fact that no amount of revisionist gallantry can conceal how terrible Yoko Ono's vocals are, this release holds historical fascination as these were Lennon's only full-length concert performances after the Beatles' split. Ono's rendition of the bizarre Open Your Box is certainly arresting, with lyrics like: “Open your box, open your box, open your trousers …”
The setlist includes a heartfelt version of Imagine and a truly apocalyptic rendering of Cold Turkey. Among the old favourites are Come Together—after which Lennon admits forgetting some lyrics: “I'll have to stop writing these daft words, man, I'm getting old”—and a raunchy Hound Dog, with Lennon shouting, “Elvis I love ya!” It remains uncertain whether Elvis was aware of this tribute.
For the finale, the stage is packed with stars including Stevie Wonder and the inevitable Allen Ginsberg, whose celebrity prestige was mysteriously unassailable. However, the best track for this reviewer is the first: New York City, John and Yoko's homage to the city that offered them sanctuary and respite—yet would become the site of a terrible catastrophe eight years later.
Power to the People: John & Yoko Live in NYC is in cinemas on 29 April and 3 May.
